Nets for Life

Committed to Making Malaria History

NOVEMBER 2006

It is when you give of yourself that you truly give

Project Description

Malaria Kills, but it can be STOPPED!

Malaria kills in shocking numbers but nowhere is it more devastating than in Sub-Saharan Africa which suffers 90% of all malaria deaths worldwide. Every 30 seconds an African child dies of malaria. Those that survive may suffer brain damage or paralysis.

Every day 3000 children die of Malaria

Malaria kills nearly a million African children under 5 years old every year.

Those that survive may have brain damage or paralysis.

Every 30 seconds, a child dies of Malaria in Africa.

Every day, 25 million pregnant African women are at risk for low birth weight and stillborn babies because of Malaria.

Malaria is especially devastating in sub-Saharan Africa where it is the leading killer of children.

Sub-Saharan Africa suffers 90% of all Malaria deaths worldwide.

Malaria can be stopped!

There is a simple, cost-effective way to prevent malaria deaths and reduce its devastating effects – a piece of life-saving cloth called a mosquito net. Studies show that the use of insecticide-treated nets can reduce the transmission of malaria as much as 50%.

“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.”
~ John Wesley

About Malaria

While malaria affects more than half the world’s population in 106 countries, it is especially devastating in Africa where the deadliest strains of malaria are found in mosquitoes best equipped to transmit the disease. Most deaths occur in children under the age of five.

Malaria is a disease caused by Plasmodium, a blood parasite.

It all starts with a painless bite delivered by the female Anopheles mosquito. Like a deadly hypodermic needle, the mosquito delivers the malaria parasite when she feeds on human blood. Tiny one-celled parasites (fifty thousand together would be about the size of the head of a pin) enter the bloodstream. It only takes one to kill.

Children are at much greater risk of death than adults. Those who survive malaria are often left pitifully debilitated with neurological disorders.

At a cost of only a few dollars each, one of the best defenses against malaria is a gauzy piece of fabric-a mosquito net. Since the malaria carrying mosquito almost always bites at night (between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.), the net is usually hung above the center of the bed to entirely cover the individuals sleeping. The insecticide in the net kills the mosquitoes when they land, stopping them from biting their next victim!

The benefits of bed nets extend beyond the family. When enough nets are used, the insecticide used to deter the mosquitoes makes the entire community safer- including those individuals who don’t have nets.

The proper use of treated nets can cut infections by half and child mortality by a third.

Our Nets for Life Program…

Answer Africa’s Nets for Life program is focused on fighting malaria through the distribution of insecticide treated mosquito nets, one community at a time.

Dr. Marangu was from Kenya and witnessed malaria’s terrible effects. Her background enabled Answer Africa to develop an infrastructure that insured the cost-effective delivery of mosquito nets even to the most remote, hard-to-reach rural areas.

100% of every dollar donated has gone to the purchase and delivery of the nets.